10 inspiring quotes from female business leaders

Last year, Fortune announced that for the first time, 6.4% of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are women—a new record. While we can all agree that’s far too low, this is an unprecedented increase of more than 50% in a year. In even better news, there are more resources than ever directed towards learning what qualities and circumstances drive women into corporate leadership. 

An Oxford University study assessed 151 male and female CEOs and their journeys to the corner office and found a few common themes. In general, men note their defining moments as leaders happened early in life while women didn’t see themselves as leaders until they were already in an organization. Men rely on networks and mentors to make the climb while women reported that they observe others and invest in self-development. There’s a lot we can learn from these trailblazers, so here are nine times female business leaders inspired us with their words.

Follow your passion

“What I wanted was to be allowed to do the thing in the world that I did best—which I believed then and believe now is the greatest privilege there is. When I did that, success found me.”
Debbi Fields – Mrs. Fields

Avoid the easy road

“Go through some difficult experiences. If you can live through them and learn from them, you have a much better chance of knowing what to do when the chips are down and everyone else is freaking out.”
Debra A. Cafaro – Ventas, Inc.

Don’t wait until you’re ready

“I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.”
Marissa Mayer – Yahoo